Attack on Ochibichan!
by Syaoran-Lover
Summary: ONESHOT! Before a nonofficial match took place, Ryouma was attacked inside his own school on his way to Tennis Club practice. How do the senpais and his family react to the consequences?


**TENISU no OUJI-SAMA (PRINCE of TENNIS) FANFICTION!**

**ONESHOT!**  
  
A.N.: OK, a few notes on my use of Japanese expressions on this fic:  
  
1) Kikumaru calls Echizen by "ochibi-chan", which, I believe, would literally mean "little one" or something, but I saw a fansub translate it as "our baby" and since I found the latter expression much cuter, that's the translation I'd like you guys to have in mind.  
  
2) "Buchou" is the club's leader, this would mean he's referring to the captain: Kunimitsu Tezuka.  
  
3) -kun/-san: suffixes to others names, they just show you the level of intimacy the speaker has with the person he/she is speaking to; "-san" is the common was and can be used by anyone, "-kun" is a more intimate way of referring to someone your age or younger than yo  
  
- - - - - - -  
  
JAPANESE WORDS TRANSLATIONS  
  
kaasan: means "mother", in an informal way  
  
ojisama: means "uncle", in a formal way  
  
oyaji: thst literally means "old man"; it's how Ryouma-sama refers to his father, it actually is a very boyish and 'rebellious' way of saying "father".  
  
shounen: means "adolescent boy"; that's Nanjirou's way of calling Ryouma- sama... either that or "baka musuko" (idiot son).  
  
baka: means "idiot"  
  
anata: it's how a woman respectfully calls her husband (when she doesn't use his name); it's also a polite way to say "you"  
  
hai: means "yes"  
  
- - - - - - -  
  
This fanfiction does not really follow any storyline I guess it fits anywhere after the Seigaku regulars is decided (and I frankly don't care which of the different regulars team was decided, that's not going to be relevant in this fic). Mind you, though, I've only watched up to TV episode 62 so far.  
  
NOT a ROMANCE fic, but you can pretty much notice everyone's worried, so this can be classified as a kawaii all-relationships thing, I guess. -- '''

AND I DO _NOT_ OWN TENISU NO OUJI-SAMA OR ANYTHING RELATED TO IT, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THIS FIC! I _DO_ OWN THIS FIC, IT'S _MINE_!  
  
**ATTACK ON OCHIBI-CHAN! (English version)**  
  
_By Syaoran-Lover_  
  
Things happened really fast and really weird.  
  
It had started out as a normal day: the boring classes, the subjects I can't understand a thing about and Echizen sleeping in class. Frankly, I still can't figure how he gets such good grades if he's always sleeping. It's a mystery... and it's pretty unfair too, I never sleep during classes, but I never seem to know as much as he does. Sometimes I wonder if he isn't actually a short university student or something that decided to come back to school for some weird reason, but that wouldn't make sense either.  
  
I had been lingering with these thoughts in my head, unusually quiet, while Echizen, Mizuno, Kachiro and I were making our way to the locker room still a good five minutes wak for our next tennis club activities, our respective bags hanging from our shoulders, when we were suddenly surrounded by a whole group of six or seven people.  
  
I bumped on Echizen's back and was then startled out of my thoughts. Trying to understand why everyone had abruptly stopped, I looked past my classmate and saw the older students around us, trapping us in their wide circle.  
  
Obviously they were from another school, as they were wearing different uniforms from ours, most seemed to be 3rd years; I came to that conclusion the moment I laid eyes on their enormous frames. [1]  
  
Strong students from another school at this time, when the classes hadn't ended yet, surrounding a group of 1st years... my instincts were practically screaming that this was definitely not good.  
  
Well, MY instincts were screaming at ME, and obviously my other two classmate's were screaming at them too, but either Echizen doesn't have any, or he's just too cold-blooded to bother, because, despite the fact that we three were paralyzed to our bones, completely unable to move, that idiot wasn't.  
  
And as a matter of fact, instead of running, he put up his cocky smirk and gave a few steps closer to what seemed to be the leader of this group.  
  
"Can I help you with anything?" he asked, and although he said it politely, there was an obvious hint of the usual sarcasm in his voice.  
  
"We're looking for the 1st year brat that everyone's talking about." The leader said, and the one beside him concluded the question:  
  
"Have you seen him? Echizen Ryouma?"  
  
At this, the three of us exchanged glances and instantly realized we were all thinking the same thing: these people were after Echizen, and it wasn't for anything good.  
  
Our hearts exploding our respective ribcages, we all watched as our classmate replied, hoping he would evade the question or lie, anything, but this idiot never backs down... never.  
  
"Yeah, that would be me." He answered, that smirk still on his lips. "But we're in a hurry right now; if we don't get there soon, the buchou's going to make us run 200 laps around the courts, so if you excuse us..."  
  
We watched nervously as Echizen started a few more steps, plainly intending to pass them by and reach the lockers, but the older students thought otherwise, slowly closing in around him and forgetting us as we were left out of their circle.  
  
I still don't know if that was a bad thing or a good one. What I know is that, right then, from our glued spots on the floor, we could only see how they completely trapped him, yanking his sports bag away from him, but Echizen didn't move or say anything at that.  
  
The only thing that changed was his expression, which went from the cocky grin to a serious look.  
  
But it wasn't enough.  
  
"I don't think so." Was what the leader said.  
  
A third student, the one that had yanked his bag, threw it to another, who caught it and, opening the zipper, began rummaging through the contents, every now and then throwing something at the ground.  
  
It was obvious they were trying to anger him and make Echizen try to get back at them, and I can't figure out why, but they probably hadn't heard of our prodigy's calm behavior or analyzing skills.  
  
That black-haired idiot had surely realized what those older students were attempting to do, and I doubt he would comply, but I knew Echizen wouldn't be able to keep himself from making a witty remark sooner or later, and that's what I feared.  
  
Mizuno, Kachiro and I all feared that, as we worriedly watched the terrible scene unfold, our hearts undoubtedly beating faster with every move that any of them made.  
  
Probably because they hadn't succeeding in making Echizen at least twitch, the guy suddenly just threw the whole sports bag on the ground with force, some of the contents splattering around it as a result.  
  
And still Echizen remained unfazed.  
  
And I guess that snapped them, because regardless of the fact that the younger one trapped by the these strange students hadn't done anything, at the leader's signal, they all of a sudden started pounding him, kicking and hitting with a lot of will, as I noticed.  
  
We gasped at this... and with heavy hearts and our breath held in our throats, our bodies still immobile and our voices gone, we saw how eventually, despite his cold attitude and unfazed expression, Echizen fell on his knees, obviously worn out, even if he refused to let it show.  
  
The older group laughed with pleasure as they saw him fall, but never did they stop the assault on the younger one.  
  
And right then, as if released from a spell, all Mizuno, Kachiro and I simultaneously ran past by the scene, our heads bowed down, avoiding the possibility of seeing anything else.  
  
Apparently they were too content with pounding Echizen to notice us.  
  
We ran desperately, straight to the closest place we knew we could find help: the locker room.  
  
We barged in and I mentally flinched when the door banged with force against the wall, courtesy of our combined "push" on it.  
  
The senpais inside the room seemed startled at the noise and at the sudden interruption, obviously they had been discussing something important, even Tezuka-buchou was there.  
  
"Good." I thought, but I wasn't able to say anything yet: all three of us were out of breath and were leaning against the wall as we tried to regain our air.  
  
"Horio!" I heard Momo-chan-senpai yell at me. "What's the meaning of this intrusion?" he yelled, obviously not satisfied at our behavior.  
  
"And where's Echizen?" the captain asked, his face holding that cold look he and Echizen always wear.  
  
As his name rang in my ears, I tried to tell them, but my knees gave way and I fell to the floor, arms before me for support.  
  
Instantly, Momo-chan-senpai was beside me to help, his anger apparently gone as he noticed something was wrong. "Oi, Horio! What happened?!" he asked with a high voice, obviously worried.  
  
I tried to explain again, but this time Kachiro beat me to it.  
  
"It's an emergency, senpais! Ryouma-kun..." but he couldn't continue either, his lack of air not letting him say more.  
  
"He was attacked by these weird guys and..." Mizuno finished quickly.  
  
Hearing this, we noticed how all the senpais flinched and paled... Echizen being attacked wasn't the only thing going on, they knew something we didn't, but we had no time to ask either.  
  
"Where's Echizen?" Oishi-senpai's concerned voice echoed.  
  
We took a good thirty seconds to regain our breaths, and even though that was a relatively short time, it was an agonizing wait for both the three of us and for them, even Kaidou-senpai had a worried expression, although it was vaguely recognizable.  
  
I pointed out the direction we had come from and, although I was still really tired, I ran back there, leading the senpais and my two comrades. I knew they are as tired as I was, perhaps even more, after all, I DO have two years of tennis experience, but that's out of the question. We were all worried, and that was it.  
  
After what seemed like an eternity, we finally arrived at the same spot where the other two and I were standing just about 2 minutes ago, but there was no sign of anyone. The only thing telling us that we weren't crazy yet was the fact that Echizen's sports bag was still there, the same way it had been when that older student threw it there.  
  
"Spread around and search!" Tezuka-buchou commanded, and instantly everyone complied.  
  
We went around searching... and Fuji-senpai's voice soared a bit after that. "Tezuka, take a look at this!" he called, and we all head to the spot where he's kneeling as he points to something on the floor.  
  
I felt the color draining from my face as I saw a red stain there... small drops of blood so close they were enough to make a small puddle.  
  
"Oh no..." I heard Kikumaru-senpai whisper. "Ochibi-chan..."  
  
We spread near the spot, but my heart stopped once again when I laid my eyes on something behind one of the nearby bushes... and I was paralyzed once more.  
  
I was vaguely aware as the others noticed this and came to my side, wanting to see what had got me this quiet and this still... and I notice everyone flinched once again as they simultaneously laid eyes on the body that was seemingly dragged there, hidden by the bright green: Echizen... completely beat up. His black uniform torn in various places, crumpled in others. His black bangs sloppily pasted on his forehead because of the sweat. A trickle of blood running from his mouth and another from his head, mixing with his hair, partly reminding me of his first official match in Japan when a broken racket had cut his left eye.  
  
But the worst part was the fact he wasn't moving. Not even the rising of his chest to indicate he was breathing.  
  
"Echizen!" I hear Fuji-senpai, Oishi-senpai and Momo-chan-senpai exclaim, the others seemed too shocked to say anything.  
  
Kikumaru-senpai was unable to maintain his gaze any longer and turned to Oishi-senpai, burying his magenta-colored head on the other's chest, tears streaming down. The vice-captain didn't seem at all surprised at that, as neither were we. It was no secret that Kikimaru-senpai was very sensitive and that he would always turn to Oishi-senpai for support... and the fact he had a soft spot for the younger Seigaku regular wasn't unnoticed by any of us either.  
  
"Oh, Oishi, this is horrible! Look what they did to ochibi-chan!" he cried, his body resting against the other's for support.  
  
Distracting everyone's attention, Inui-senpai quickly kneeled beside Echizen, his ear just above the other's lips, a relieved expression dawning on his face as he explained. "He's breathing, that's one good sign."  
  
We all nodded at that, but most remained unmoving, none knowing what to do as Inui-senpai tried to make some improvised bandages from both his and Echizen's clothes, until Momo-chan-senpai dropped to his knees and shaked the unconscious boy's shoulders, calling out to him with a desperate voice.  
  
"Echizen, hang in there! Open your eyes! Oi, Echizen!" he shouted, but the younger seemed not to hear.  
  
Eventually, however, Momo-chan-senpai's brief efforts paid off as Echizen started to mutter some sounds and, fluttering his eyelids, his amber orbs slowly became visible to us.  
  
"Huh?" he muttered. "Senpais... how come you're here?" he asked weakly.  
  
I noticed how most of the regulars let out a breath, relieved, but decided not to say anything. My attention was, however, diverged back to Echizen and Inui-senpai, the older one checking the younger player.  
  
"Is something hurt, Echizen?" the spiked-haired senpai asked, obviously referring to anything broken, not just hurting.  
  
"Not really... just... both my wrists..." he answers, amber eyes ready to close anytime now.  
  
We all visibly flinch at this: without his wrists, how could Echizen ever play tennis?  
  
Inui-senpai checks them, as if to make sure, but just his bare touch is enough to make the youngest regular gasp and his eyes shoot open. We know then that they are undoubtedly broken, although why Echizen wasn't trashing and screaming about was a real mystery... broken bones hurt... a lot... the pain is unbearable... even the strongest can't resist the urge to yell... yet Echizen is painfully quiet...  
  
He's fainted again.  
  
He's "Quick, I'll take him to the Nurse's Office!" yells Inui-senpai as he easily lifts Echizen's body from the ground and into his strong arms, running off with him towards the Seigaku building, and both we first years and the other regulars follow.

* * *

This is not good. The nurse's diagnosis was exactly what we predicted: Echizen had broken his wrists, thankfully nothing that couldn't be mended in time, but that meant he would spend at least two months without tennis, and knowing Echizen, the possibility that he'd quit tennis was higher... in the sense that he wouldn't do either.  
  
According to the nurse, his wrist should be OK in three months at most, IF he didn't do any exercise; according to what we know of Echizen, he won't be able to resist for more than a week, if we're lucky... especially with the fact that Seigaku was going to participate in a local tournament, unrelated to the ones we had been in so far, but that would be enough to make Echizen go against doctor orders... and we frankly couldn't blame him... he practically lived for tennis, anything else was too boring for him.  
  
Right now, we were waiting for Echizen's family to arrive, for the nurse had called his house to inform them of the incident, that being the legal procedure... after all, parents had the right to know when anything serious happened to their offspring.  
  
The senpais seemed really absorbed in their respective thoughts, but something told me they were mainly thinking the same thing... something they were not telling us first years yet.  
  
A few more minutes passed by before the faint sound of hurried footsteps was heard, and suddenly three people were standing before us, gasping for breath, hands on their knees.  
  
We all eyed them; apparently they had run all the way here. Weird, was their despair that great they forgot cars are faster?  
  
Suddenly, Momo-chan-senpai yelled something, startling everyone. "You!" he shouted, pointing at the only male of the three. "The perverted monk! What are you doing here?!"  
  
When he said that, Mizuno, Kachiro and I promptly recognized the weird man who had followed Echizen and Ryuuzaki the other day, but before we could say anything, the oldest woman did.  
  
"Uhm, excuse me, but where's Ryouma?"  
  
At this question, the younger girl, who was holding a very furry white cat, asked one of her own. "Is Ryouma-san OK?"  
  
It was Tezuka-buchou who answered. "He's fine. Both his wrists are broken, but they'll heal, if he keeps them at rest. Echizen is sleeping on one of the bed at the Nurse's Room, behind this door you're currently facing. Before you enter to see him, however, we have something important to let you know."  
  
"What?" the monk asked, his voice impatient.  
  
This guy sure acted a lot like Echizen, if you excluded the fact he didn't hide his emotions. At his question, Tezuka-buchou turned to him, and his next words surprised me greatly, as well as Momo-chan-senpai and my two classmates.  
  
"You're Echizen Nanjirou, right? The tennis player that took Japan by surprise years ago winning all 37 tournaments and suddenly retired. Am I correct?"  
  
"What the hell happened to my son?!" he asked furiously, somehow confirming our captain's suspicions while ignoring the question.  
  
This was hell weird. His father is an easy-going person, the two women with him were very polite and kind too, but Echizen was just too expressionless. Where did that come from? The cat? No, that furry thing showed more emotions than Seigaku's 1st year regular.  
  
Wherever it was, Oishi-senpai decided to take the lead in the conversation. "Excuse me, I'm Shuuichirou Oishi, vice-captain of this school's tennis club and this," he said, pointing then to our captain, "is the captain, Tezuka Kunimitsu. We have something we would like you to hear before we tell you what happened."  
  
At this point, Tezuka-buchou stepped forward again, taking a white envelope out of one of his pockets and offering it to Echizen's family. "We received this letter this morning." He started, as the ex-star tennis player read it. "As you can see, it's a threat. Considering most of the Seigaku regulars are sophomores and seniors, these people decided to pick on the weakest link: Echizen. Although he's nowhere near the weakest when it comes to tennis, your son is the smallest and the one who has less physical strength, so he was an easier target. I was just presenting this letter to the others in the locker room earlier when Echizen's classmates barged in telling us what happened. Maybe it would be best if you heard it from them." The captain said, pointing to us with his last words.  
  
As Echizen's father turned to face us, I immediately started telling him what we saw, and by the time I finished, not taking too much time to say everything, the older man's face was a furious red, the older woman was on the verge of crying and the younger one was gripping the cat with might, and I was under the impression the cat also seemed ready to attack anyone.  
  
"Who were they?" Echizen's father asked furiously, not bothering to hide his anger. "No one beats that kid except me!" he shouted, throwing the crippled letter back at our captain.  
  
It was Inui-senpai's turn to answer. "We honestly don't know. As you can see, the letter has no sender, and according to these boys, the group that attacked Echizen never said their names or which school they were from, but whichever it is, they are surely going to participate in the local tournament, and that's when we'll beat the crap out of them!"  
  
We all gaped at Inui-senpai's unusual harsh words, but I'm pretty sure he verbalized all the regulars' thoughts.  
  
A few seconds of silence followed before the nurse exited the room, coming face-to-face with us.  
  
"Oh, you must be Ryouma-kun's family! Come in, you guys can come too, but please watch it, the room's not so big, so please try not to make much noise or you'll give him a headache." She said, giving us passage to enter.  
  
Did baby boy wake up?" Kikumaru-senpai asked.  
  
"Yes." The nurse answered with a smile. "But don't give him a hard time, try to keep quiet, OK?"  
  
We all nodded and entered.  
  
At the far end of the room, near the window, Echizen sat on a white bed, lower body covered by equally colored sheets, back leaning on a huge pillow propped up against the wall. His eyes were looking out the opening at the outside landscape, face covered by that indifferent expression, arms hanging limply beside his body, hands wrapped in bandages up to halfway of his forearms.  
  
Before any of us did anything, however, the oldest lady ran to her son's side and hugged him tightly, startling the stuffing out of him.  
  
"Kaasan!" we heard him say as he tried to breathe through her strong embrace.  
  
We all smiled at this. Echizen could be one stubborn brat, but, as much as I don't understand why I think this, he still looks very cute when his mother holds him like that.  
  
When she finally lets him go, allowing the poor tennis player to retake some air, the other girl, who I think could be his sister, also ran up to them, dropping the cat on the bed.  
  
"Karupin!" Echizen exclaims, and we all see the happiness in his eyes as the cat lays itself in the wounded boy's arms, even if the stubborn idiot refuses to let it show. When he looks up to greet the younger girl, only then does he seem to notice our presence there, and I can't help but to feel like I'm intruding in a family moment.  
  
"Oyaji..." he whispers.  
  
The older man stands by us, locking gazes with the younger player, while the other regulars, Mizuno, Kachiro and I all watch anxious to see both their reactions, not knowing what to expect.  
  
After a few seconds of staring into each other's eyes in a silent battle, Echizen-san sighed and walked towards his son, stopping beside the bed. His hand suddenly found Echizen's hair and started ruffling it.  
  
"Oi, shounen! Just tell me who did it already, baka!"  
  
"Anata!" his wife shouted reprovingly, but the perverted monk paid no attention.  
  
Echizen, however, didn't seem very supportive of the idea of telling us.  
  
"Nya, ochibi! Did they blackmail you or anything? Don't worry! We'll get them back and they won't lay a hand on you! Senpai's word!" Kikumaru- senpai said, a grin as huge as his racket stamped on his face.  
  
"That's not the problem, Kikumaru-senpai." Echizen's quiet voice made us all turn to his raised face with the stubborn expression. "I want to beat them myself!"  
  
I was a bit amazed at this and just stood there mutely, as did the other two 1st years with me, but the other people in the room seemed to either think it was a joke, since either they started laughing like crazy, like Echizen-san and Momo-chan-senpai, or they had serious faces, almost scowls, like Tezuka-buchou and Echizen's mom.  
  
Echizen's face did not lose its blank expression... and I couldn't figure what the cat was thinking.  
  
But after a while, when he stopped laughing abruptly, Echizen's father started lecturing his son again, with back-up from almost everyone there.  
  
"Oi, baka shounen! I don't know who these people are of if they're better than you or not, but even if you are better than them in tennis, it's clear they will not play you fair and square! You weren't any match for them in a real fight, so don't even try handling it yourself by going against a whole group of stronger kids on your own!"  
  
"Ryouma-kun, ojisama is right... and with those wrists, even if you wanted to play against them, you wouldn't..." the other girl tried saying, but it seemed she couldn't bring the news to him.  
  
Surprisingly, Echizen didn't seem at all amazed at that. It was clear what she had tried to say, even if she did not finish the sentence, but that idiot seemed to know already.  
  
"I know, but I wasn't planning on taking them back myself... yet." He whispered, confusing all of us. With a smirk, he continued. "Until I'm fully able to regain my spot as a regular, senpais, I'm leaving the matter up to you... the next match, I mean."  
  
I didn't quite understand what he meant by that, but as I looked around, I saw the older regulars were smiling, so they clearly knew what was going on.  
  
"Hai." Fuji-senpai replied with a smile... as always.  
  
"Don't worry, Echizen. We will surely win!" Momo-chan-senpai said.  
  
Kaidou-senpai hissed a bit and followed the others out, but it was clear he was going to give it his best too. I didn't think he wouldn't want a reason to squash the other team anyway.  
  
I was about to ask someone about all this, but Oishi-senpai suddenly decided we had to leave and let the family be alone for a while, so everyone filed out.  
  
Once outside, I immediately turned to Inui-senpai and asked what was going on. The answer I received was quite unexpected to me, as obvious as it would be for anyone watching from a sideline, but I would just love to see it all happen.

* * *

Echizen remained in the Nurse's Room for a few more days under observation, just to make sure his wrists would be OK, but he would be authorized to leave in no time, despite the fact that there was no way our younger tennis prodigy would be able to play his game anytime soon or take any tests, unless someone wrote down his answers for him. The idiot was even permitted to stay at home until he could at least take notes again, but for some reason that brainless classmate of mine insisted on attending classes even then.  
  
So, under the tennis regulars senpais' orders, I was assigned to watch him at all times.  
  
One particular scene I found interesting was when I found him playing with that strange cat of his... Karupin, if I'm not mistaken. At the time, for some weird reason, half of the regulars had been spying on him with me, but later I found out that it was Momo-chan-senpai, Fuji-senpai, Inui-senpai and Kikumaru-senpai that had lured the cat to the school and made sure it found our injured player. They told me they wanted to see how Echizen acted when he thought no one was around him, specifically with the cat that seemed so attached to him.  
  
They were right to wonder, I guess, because the moment Echizen heard Karupin's voice when we let the cat at the top of the building, where we knew its owner spent his lunch period in, that baka dropped the cold act and actually smiled without his usual sarcasm... it was a normal smile.  
  
"Karupin!" he shouted surprised. Opening his arm, the cat immediately jumped on him, and he hugged it for a long time, the caring expression ever present.  
  
To say we were amazed would be an understatement... none of us had ever seen Echizen make such a happy face as he laid there with Karupin in his arms. When the bell rang, signaling it was time we headed back for classes, the second we turned on our heals to go back to our classes, Echizen's voice froze us to our bones.  
  
"There's really no reason as to why you should spend the whole lunch period spying on me, you know. Bring a camera or something, that would be much easier for you." He said sarcastically.  
  
Great... the good old humored Echizen is back already. And speaking of him, the idiot came out through the door behind us with the cat in his arms before we could even tell our minds to make our bodies move again.  
  
"As much as I love Karupin's company, please do not bring him here again, it's forbidden for cats and other animals to come into the school." He said, shoving the cat back to Momo-chan-senpai's arms.  
  
"How did you know we were here, Echizen-kun?" Fuji-senpai asked politely as ever, but Echizen just shrugged.  
  
"Instinct, I guess."  
  
That said, he walked passed us, heading back to our classroom. We stood there dumbstruck for a few more minutes before we finally realized we also had to get back, unless we wanted to arrive late for the classes... something our teachers wouldn't really appreciate.  
  
"Interesting!" Inui-senpai whispered as he took out one of his notebooks out of nowhere and began writing something on it. "So Echizen has good and accurate instincts... that could be a good help when he plays..."  
  
I kind of sweatdropped at that, but then I remembered that I've been meaning to ask something to my senpais, so I took my chance at that moment.  
  
"Hey, senpais, I've been meaning to ask you... what did Echizen mean by 'leave it up to you'? What ever is happening?"  
  
The older students shared looks between themselves before turning their attention back to me. Fuji-senpai was the first to speak.  
  
"Horio-kun, we're going to give you a brief explanation. Echizen-kun won't be able to play in the next match." He started.  
  
"I told you that the other day, remember, when you asked me outside the Nurse's Room? I also said we had to keep an eye on him too." Inui-senpai continued.  
  
"But the reason he's leaving it up to us..." Momo-chan-senpai started.  
  
"Is because the students who beat him up are our next opponents." Inui- senpai finished, fingers lifting up the glasses on his nose.  
  
"And we're going to beat them big for doing that to our ochibi-chan!" Kikumaru-senpai added as he pouted... clearly the thought of Echizen getting hurt like that had affected him greatly.  
  
"But we have to keep an eye on Echizen until then, since they might attack again anytime."  
  
We all froze when hearing this voice, knowing completely to whom it belonged to. Without even turning around, we all exclaimed in unison.  
  
"Tezuka-buchou!"  
  
"Why are you here?" Inui-senpai asked.  
  
"To make sure Echizen was being watched. Why isn't that being so?" he asked, clearly disapproving our slacking off.  
  
"Well... we were, it's just... we just..."  
  
"Enough excuses, Momoshiro! Horio, get back to your class and do NOT take your eyes off Echizen!"  
  
"Yes, sir!" I shouted. And with that, I immediately raced back to my classroom.  
  
At least I wasn't late yet.

* * *

I've gotta say, our senpais are amazing. That I always knew, but when they are fired up... they're really something else. I know I will never forget the look on Fuji-senpai's face, in singles 1, when he finished the match against Towamirai, the school where Echizen's attackers were from. It didn't last 7 whole minutes! Or the look on Kikumaru-senpai's and Oishi- senpai's faces before that, in doubles 1, that one didn't last 5 minutes! Doubles 2 was Momo-chan-senpai and Kaidou-senpai, and that was another quick match to add up. Clearly the players had been chosen by who were the most furious because of Echizen's assault, even Kaidou-senpai.  
  
The most amazing thing was that every time they were going to score the match point, the same phrase was spoken: "This is for hurting the Seigaku Regulars kouhai [2] without letting him play!"  
  
And each time those words were shouted for the whole gymnasium to hear, the match was set for Seigaku... and the opponents, Towamirai, never scored at least ONE miserable point in ANY of the matches!  
  
Yes... our senpais were definitely angry!  
  
Echizen himself came to watch the match, and as soon as the Towamirai team members saw him and realized he wouldn't be playing, they smirked at him in a sinister way, obviously thinking they would scare him like they terrified me, but Echizen seemed not to care one bit, for he just pretended they didn't even exist... as he always did.  
  
Sometimes I wonder if ANYTHING can scare him.  
  
After the match, when Echizen had gone to catch a sip of water and we waited for him, something we never expected happened: just when we were thinking he was taking too long and went searching for him, our tennis club came face to face the very funny scene of Echizen Nanjiroh-san and the cat Karupin teaching the Towamirai team a very important lesson... to not mess with an Echizen.  
  
Our young player was propped up against a large oak tree, his face down... unconscious.  
  
We learned then that Echizen had been cornered when returning from the water fountain by the team we had just won over. It seemed they were trying to get some sort of sick revenge, since Echizen hadn't played. They probably thought the 1st year would be afraid of them after what they'd done, and that he would surely show it if he was caught alone, but again they did not get what they wanted.  
  
Unfortunately they did start pounding on him anyway and he lost consciousness when slammed on the tree, but at that exact moment Echizen- san and Karupin had found them, having been searching for our injured player to make sure something like that would not happen, without him having to realize it... they knew he'd be really mad if ever the idiot found out.  
  
Turns out they weren't able to prevent Echizen from being hurt, but they sure had his attackers regret doing it. Even the fluffy cat which I thought was merely for company surprised me when he attacked with his claws using such speed and precision I'm sure we all made a mental note to never get that cat (forgive me!) "pissed" ever... especially if it involved Echizen.  
  
The cat obviously liked him a lot.  
  
When they finished; and even then we were still so dumbstruck, we could barely move from our spots; the father picked up his son and said he would bring him back to the Nurse's Room while we took care of his attackers.  
  
I can guarantee the Towamirai Tennis Team will never try to mess with the current Seigaku Tennis Regulars again...

* * *

By the time Echizen woke up yet again, we had all gathered in his room and the short player was already laid on his bed. His father had brought him there when the nurse checked him over in the school and made it clear that the only thing our youngest regular needed was resting.  
  
I'm sure I saw a look of surprise written in his eyes, but it was brief... in seconds that look was gone, replaced by his usual blank expression.  
  
Karupin, on top of him, was the first to notice the idiot had woken up and signaled us. I saw the relief on the senpais' faces, even Kaidou-senpai's, when they saw he was well. Only then did they turn towards the door to head back home, despite the fact that it was already 2am.  
  
Before they went, however, Echizen's low voice stopped them, thanking the players with a very low voice.  
  
"Senpai-tachi. Arigatou... I really enjoyed watching the match." He practically whispered.  
  
The other regulars turned back to him, wide grins on their faces, except Tezuka-buchou's and Kaidou-senpai's, of course, but the latter player had an obvious glimmer in his eyes, while the captain's expression was unreadable.  
  
I do have the feeling he was quite satisfied, though...  
  
And right then, Echizen raised his head and we were all surprised to see that his face was wearing that careless expression once again, even if he had just sounded so innocent just seconds ago.  
  
"And don't ever expect me to say that again!" he said with a smirk.  
  
All of us laughed, including his father. If that were mine, I'd probably be bonked on the head right in front of everyone for that rudeness... but this was Echizen, it didn't sound rude at all... in fact, it sounded right.  
  
And that was Echizen Nanjirou-san. I don't think he minds his son's ways...  
  
"Echizen, we'll be waiting for your return, so hurry up and get well soon!" Momo-chan-senpai said as the senpais, Mizuno, Kachiro and I filed out of the injured player's room. Once outside, we all tried suppressing a few giggles, but our efforts proved to be worthless and we all started laughing, running outside in a dash to avoid such rudeness.  
  
We knew he would be OK, but I wonder... just how much will he endure without playing tennis? Tennis is Echizen's life, to not be able to play for such a long time, as two months would be for him without the sport... will he be able to?  
  
As I pondered that, I silently wished the whole Towamirai team would rot in hell. Tennis is a sport... it's made to have fun while playing, not to fight because of it. For ruining the spirit of such a wonderful activity, I, Satoshi Horio, with two years of tennis experience will definitely not forgive!  
  
**END**  
  
[1] "Seniors" is what 3rd years of high school are called, I think. I really don't know how this part of the American education system works.  
  
[2] I read somewhere that this means something like "lower-grade", being the contrary to "senpai".  
  
A.N.: I've played tennis for about a decade now, and I absolutely can't forgive those who do such a thing (violence out of the courts because of tennis), but when it comes to fanfiction, anime and manga, I actually love when that sort of thing happens... to my favorite characters, of course, otherwise the fic would be no fun!!   
  
I'm in love with Ryouma so don't even think I wrote this to 'see' him do bad, I just like it when the older guys demonstrate their worried about him.   
  
In case you don't remember (I sure didn't), Mizuno Katsuo is the almost bald 1st year, Kachirou Katou is the one that has the hair shaped like a bowl and whose father is an instructor at a tennis club. If you don't know who is Satoshi Horio, you are in serious need of rewatching "Tenisu no Ouji- sama" (Prince of Tennis) and if you don't know who Echizen Ryouma is, then go to psychologist because you are in serious need of a mental check-up!   
  
I'm not really sure yet, but I've been thinking of writing a sort of sequel about the period during which Ryouma-sama has to keep himself from playing tennis for 2 or so months. I'm not sure whether I'll put it up as a yaoi, shounen- ai, RyoSaku or just something like this fic, but then again, I don't even know if I'll write it, since there is so much I still have to start, edit or/and end. If anyone is interested, please do let me know.  
  
Well, I've looked this over and it seems ready to be posted, but if anyone finds ANY mistake (Grammar, spelling, incoherencies, translations, transcriptions or whatever), please REVIEW and tell me so I can correct it!  
  
This is actually the second time I'm posting this, but all the dialogues in Japanese were cut off. If anyone would rather read the version with the said dialogues, just give me your e-mail and a request for it in a review and I'll e- mail the original version to you.   
  
Feedback is appreciated.  
  
Happy Easter, everyone!

hands out Ryouma-shaped chocolate to everyone   
  
Syaoran-Lover signing out!


End file.
